Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much has the Government spent on updating (a) government websites, (b) signage, (c) stationery and (d) other branded materials as a result of changes in (i) ministerial titles and (ii) departmental structures following the reshuffle.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Cabinet Office does not centrally hold information or data on this topic.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to ensure the Highway Code is taught in schools.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The revised relationships, sex and health education guidance was published on 15 July and includes a new personal safety section. Curriculum content includes how to identify risk and manage personal safety in increasingly independent situations, including around roads, railways, including level crossings, and water.

The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, chaired by Becky Francis CBE.

The Review aims to ensure a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that readies young people for life and work. The Review Group published its Interim Report in March 2025 here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6821d69eced319d02c9060e3/Curriculum_and_Assessment_Review_interim_report.pdf.

The group will publish its final report with recommendations this autumn.​

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many special advisers left government employment as a result of the government reshuffle; and what was the total cost of (a) severance and (b) compensation payments to those individuals.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

In line with the Model Contract for Special Advisers, when a special adviser’s appointing minister leaves office special advisers’ contracts are automatically terminated.

The Model Contract states special adviser severance entitlement. The cost of severance payments is stated in the Annual Report on Special Advisers.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of a property tax on landlords on the availability of rental properties in the private sector.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government does not comment on speculation about tax changes. All tax policy is kept under review and tax decisions will be made at the Budget, in the usual way.

The Government recognises that the private rented sector plays an important role in the UK housing market. Boosting the supply of housing is essential in making rent more affordable, which is why we have committed to building 1.5 million homes over the course of this Parliament.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 3 September 2025 to Question 73585 on Asylum: Housing, what her policy is on the administration of asylum accommodation contracts relating to people who both oversee contracts and are licence holders for houses in multiple occupation used for asylum accommodation.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

All commercial contracts are subject to normal government procurement rules.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 3 Sep 2025 to Question 73585 on Asylum: Housing, what mechanisms exist for members of the public to report perceived conflicts of interest in the allocation of contracts to provide asylum accommodation.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

All commercial contracts are subject to normal government procurement rules.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 3 Sep 2025 to Question 73585 on Asylum: Housing, what steps her Department is taking to ensure there is no conflict of interest when allocating contracts for asylum accommodation.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

All commercial contracts are subject to normal government procurement rules.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Nursing and Midwifery Council on the balance of academic and practical training in nurse education programmes.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

No recent discussions have taken place. Higher education institutions and practice placement providers develop the content of programmes and determine the balance of academic and practical learning in line with the outcome standards set by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

Nursing students are required to complete 2,300 hours of practice learning as part of their pre-registration programme, 600 of which can be completed through simulated training. The NMC is currently conducting a review of nursing and midwifery practice learning requirements.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 3 Sep 2025 to Question 73585 on Asylum: Housing, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that Government procurement rules are adhered to in the issuing of contracts to provide asylum accommodation; and what steps he is taking to ensure that perceived breaches can be reported.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

All commercial contracts are subject to normal government procurement rules.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support is available for NHS mental health staff who are injured at work or absent due to work-related stress.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The health and wellbeing of National Health Service staff is a top priority, including those who work in mental health settings. It is important that employers across the NHS take a preventative and proactive approach to supporting their staff and keeping them healthy. At a national level, NHS staff have access to the SHOUT helpline for crisis support alongside the Practitioner Health service for more complex mental health and wellbeing support, including for trauma and addiction.

The 10-Year Health Plan aims to significantly reduce sickness absence rates. We will introduce a new set of staff standards for modern employment which will ensure employers support staff to work healthily and flexibly. We will also roll out Staff Treatment hubs, starting in 2027, to ensure staff have access to high quality support for mental health and back conditions.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of removing local authority discretion to waive the Council Tax premium on second homes in cases where the second property is used for essential non-luxury purposes on homeowners.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Decisions on whether to apply council tax premiums are a matter for individual councils. Where a council chooses to implement a premium, they have the discretionary power to set their own local exceptions to premiums, or provide discounts where they consider this appropriate. The government has no plans to restrict or remove these powers.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure childcare policy supports the recruitment and retention of student nurses as part of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, updated on 22 April 2024.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department for Education provides the primary funding support package for English domiciled students in higher education through the student loans system. Eligible students can also apply for the Childcare Grant and Parents’ Learning Allowance.

The Department of Health and Social Care provides eligible healthcare students, including student nurses, with supplementary, non-repayable support via the NHS Learning Support Fund (LSF). This includes a £5,000 training grant for all students eligible for the LSF and a further £2,000 per academic year for those students with childcare responsibility. These funding arrangements are reviewed annually ahead of the start of each academic year.

We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan (10YWP) to create a workforce ready to deliver a transformed service. This 10YWP will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how long pastoral support is available to young people after leaving state schools.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is co-producing a National Youth Strategy in partnership with young people and cross-sector experts to set out a new long term vision for young people, which will cover young people aged 10 to 21 (up to 25 for young people with special educational needs and disabilities). This will include plans for the introduction of Young Futures Hubs. These will bring together services to improve access to opportunities and support for young people at community level, promoting positive outcomes and enabling them to thrive.

High quality careers advice is an essential part of our mission to break down the barriers to opportunity and drive economic growth. The National Careers Service offers advice to support young people (and their parents/carers) to understand their career options. Youth Hubs provide vital links in the community, bringing together employment support from a Jobcentre Plus work coach and place-based support from local partnerships to help young people into work when they leave school.

We recognise that care leavers have poorer outcomes than their peers across all aspects of their lives and are taking action to address this. All care leavers up to the age of 25 are entitled to support from a Personal Adviser to help them prepare for and cope with the challenges of living independently.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the consumption of high caffeine energy drinks on (a) schools and (b) educational outcomes.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The government has committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever to provide them with a better and more prosperous future. That is why the government’s manifesto committed to a ban on the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under 16 in England, and we are consulting on bringing this into effect. We know they can have a detrimental impact on educational outcomes by lowering educational wellbeing and negatively impacting school attendance and academic achievement.

Energy drinks are not permitted within the school food standards. School governing boards are responsible for setting their school food policies, including on food and drinks brought in from home. We encourage schools to have a whole-school approach to healthy eating, and some schools already ban energy drinks brought in from home.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many visits by Ministers in his Department took place in constituencies represented by (a) Labour, (b) Conservative and (c) other hon. Members in the period between 4 July 2024 and 2 July 2025.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

This information isn’t centrally held.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of police workforce shortages on response times to emergency calls.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government’s Safer Streets Mission sets a clear expectation for policing to deliver safer communities and improved public confidence. We are committed to giving forces the resources they need to keep the public safe.

The 2025-26 final police funding settlement provides up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. Total funding to police forces will be up to £17.6 billion, an increase of up to £1.2 billion compared to the 2024-25 police funding settlement – a significant increase, and more than the increase last year. This equates to a 7.1% cash increase, and 4.6% real terms increase in funding.

This includes fully covering the costs for the 2024/25 pay award, the increase in the employer national insurance contributions, £376.8 million for officer maintenance and an additional £200 million to kickstart the first phase of 13,000 additional police officers, PCSOs and special constables into neighbourhood policing roles.

It is for Chief Constables and directly elected PCCs, and Mayors with PCC functions to make operational decisions based on their local knowledge and experience. This includes how best to allocate all the resources at their disposal to provide responses to emergency calls alongside all the other services and support they provide to communities.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2025 to Question 66726 on Childcare: Eligibility, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of changing the eligibility criteria to take account of the unpaid nature of student nursing.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.

Students who work in addition to their studies and earn the equivalent of at least 16 hours a week at National Minimum Wage (this is equivalent to £195 per week/£10,158 per year in 2025/2026), and under £100,000 adjusted net income per year, may be eligible for this offer. If they are unable to meet this threshold, they will remain eligible for the universal 15 hours of free early education, which is available to all 3 and 4-year-olds, regardless of family circumstances.

The government recognises the value of parents continuing in education and provides a range of support for students in further or higher education to support them with childcare. Support available to full-time students with dependent children includes the Childcare Grant and Parents’ Learning Allowance. Entitlement to these grants is based on a student’s household income. Healthcare students may also be entitled to the NHS Learning Support Fund.

Further information on the childcare offers available to parents can be found at: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will set out the level of childcare support his Department provides for (a) student nurses and (b) other essential vocational trainees; and what plans she has to increase that level of support.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.

Students who work in addition to their studies and earn the equivalent of at least 16 hours a week at National Minimum Wage (this is equivalent to £195 per week/£10,158 per year in 2025/2026), and under £100,000 adjusted net income per year, may be eligible for this offer. If they are unable to meet this threshold, they will remain eligible for the universal 15 hours of free early education, which is available to all 3 and 4-year-olds, regardless of family circumstances.

The government recognises the value of parents continuing in education and provides a range of support for students in further or higher education to support them with childcare. Support available to full-time students with dependent children includes the Childcare Grant and Parents’ Learning Allowance. Entitlement to these grants is based on a student’s household income. Healthcare students may also be entitled to the NHS Learning Support Fund.

Further information on the childcare offers available to parents can be found at: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making student nurses eligible for the 30 hours of free childcare.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.

Students who work in addition to their studies and earn the equivalent of at least 16 hours a week at National Minimum Wage (this is equivalent to £195 per week/£10,158 per year in 2025/2026), and under £100,000 adjusted net income per year, may be eligible for this offer. If they are unable to meet this threshold, they will remain eligible for the universal 15 hours of free early education, which is available to all 3 and 4-year-olds, regardless of family circumstances.

The government recognises the value of parents continuing in education and provides a range of support for students in further or higher education to support them with childcare. Support available to full-time students with dependent children includes the Childcare Grant and Parents’ Learning Allowance. Entitlement to these grants is based on a student’s household income. Healthcare students may also be entitled to the NHS Learning Support Fund.

Further information on the childcare offers available to parents can be found at: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to review the future funding model of the BBC.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

To ensure the BBC is on a stable financial footing, the Government has committed to the current licence fee model for the remainder of the current Charter period.

The licence fee will increase annually in line with CPI inflation until the end of this Charter period, as required by the Licence Fee Settlement agreed by the last Government in 2022.

Looking ahead, the Secretary of State is a strong supporter of the BBC and has been clear that it must be funded by a model that is sustainable. The Government is keeping an open mind about the future of the licence fee, and the forthcoming Charter Review will provide an opportunity to consider the best possible funding model to set the BBC up for success long into the future.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of staffing shortages on patient and staff safety in psychiatric wards in Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

As of July 2025, the Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust’s in-patient settings achieved a fill rate of above 90% for planned rostered hours, as clinically required. Fill rates are a key metric for monitoring whether enough staff are available to meet patient needs.

The trust is also required to report care hours per patient day monthly. The most recent figures for the trust and Harbour hospital were 12.9, and 16 respectively. This is above the national average of 9, and the highest out of all mental health trusts in the North West region.

Nationally, the Government has also committed to recruiting an additional 8,500 mental health workers by the end of this Parliament, to ease pressure on busy mental health services. We are more than halfway towards our target.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure safe staffing levels at The Harbour mental health facility in Blackpool.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

As of July 2025, the Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust’s in-patient settings achieved a fill rate of above 90% for planned rostered hours, as clinically required. Fill rates are a key metric for monitoring whether enough staff are available to meet patient needs.

The trust is also required to report care hours per patient day monthly. The most recent figures for the trust and Harbour hospital were 12.9, and 16 respectively. This is above the national average of 9, and the highest out of all mental health trusts in the North West region.

Nationally, the Government has also committed to recruiting an additional 8,500 mental health workers by the end of this Parliament, to ease pressure on busy mental health services. We are more than halfway towards our target.